BATESVILLE — Sandra Barron had an inspiration when she came across a book at a neighbor’s house.
The book was called "How to Paint on Rocks."
"I looked at that book and said, ‘I can do that,’" Barron said. "Some of these (stepping stones) were painted several years ago (2004). I painted in the basement and I was just waiting for the day for someone to lay my rocks."
Sandra’s husband Odis Barron collected the Soque River stones in 1978, and the pile of rock was just sitting in the backyard until last summer.
"(I found the stones) over a period of time," he said. "I was getting ready for them to lay rock and I was getting them out of the creek."
There also is a rock from Lake Champlain, Vt., and a black rock from Kentucky in Sandra’s walkway.
She first decided to paint scenes on the stepping stones, then placed those stones into a walkway leading to her back patio.
From little frogs to landscapes, covered bridges, flip-flops and country scenes, Barron has painted a little bit of everything.
"I like waterfalls," she said. "One (stone) is supposed to be a country store. I guess it’s folk art because I don’t know how to paint."
Hand painting the elaborate patio and rock walkway took the entire summer break last year.
"It took me every day except Sunday," she said. "I painted every day just about ... and it was hot; it was miserable."
Barron used acrylic paint for the folk scenes and a clear Duracoat to seal the stones. But Bryan Ward, outside salesman for Gainesville Paint & Decor, said there is a more durable way to seal the project.
"I think I would go in and put some type of a sealer, like a Chattahoochee sealer, on the rock or stone," he said. "That would be something that is very thin and clear and penetrates into the rock and then it dries and seals the rock, so then when she goes and puts her paint on, the paint actually stays on the surface of the rock, rather than seeping into the rock."
Ward explained to first seal the rock or stone and then recommended similar projects should be painted with oil-based enamel.
"The oil-based paint is much more durable than the latex paint," he said. "Acrylic paint is really easy for the user because they can clean up with soap and water and if they get it on them it is no big deal; the problem is the durability."
Even though Barron is not a formally trained artist, she managed to paint her entire back patio, with some help from her daughter Toni Allen, along with at least 50 more river rocks.
Her favorite painting is one that she created after her 50th wedding anniversary.
"For our 50 years of marriage I give all the credit to the good Lord," Barron said. "I said (to Odis) ‘All this painting is your anniversary,’ and he said ‘And me paying for all of this is yours.’"